Maersk Line is testing the employment of biocarburante derived from the algae for feeding the engines of the Maersk Kalmar



Shipowning group Danish A.P. Møller-Mærsk is experimenting, with US Navy, the which combustible employment of biocarburanti for feeding the engines of beyond 1.300 ships of own fleet.

In order to estimate the opportunities offered from the biocombustibili and in order to characterize the problems that involve theirs I use the Maersk group has started a project centralized on the travels of the completed duration of a month from the Maersk Kalmar, a portacontainer of the constructed ability to 6.690 teu in the 1998 that Maersk Line employs on the route between the German port of Bremerhaven and the Indian port of Pipavav with a series of intermediate ports of call. The project previews that in the course of its navigation between Europe and India, with on board a team formed from assigned of Maersk Maritime Line and Maersk Technology, the ship uses which combustible 30 tons of fuel derived from the algae.

In particular, in one of the auxiliary engines of the Maersk Kalmar mixtures of fuel that contain a percentage of fuel derived from the algae comprised between 7% and 100% are being tested. Therefore the biocarburante is not used for the propulsion, but for the generation of electric power used for feeding the electronic systems of the ship. The objective of Maersk, however, is to arrive to feeding with the biocarburante also the main engine of the portacontainer.

"The properties of this fuel - Technology has explained ingegner Klaus Jørgensen di Maersk Maritime - are similar to those of the diesel oil for marine use. Therefore if, as we preview, we are able to feed the auxiliary engine with this fuel for long periods of time, we will be able to calmly use it also in the main engine".

Objective of Marina Militare of the United States, that it is the main sponsor of the project and supplies the 30 tons of fuel derived from the algae, is to reach within 2020 to produce 50% of the necessary energy to its activities with the alternative fuel employment. Scope of Maersk Line is to reduce of 25% within the same date, regarding 2007, its emissions of co2 for every transported container.

The responsible Clima and Ambiente di Maersk Line, Jacob Sterling, has specified that, from a wider point of view, the initiative of the company is time also to totally estimate the potentialities of the employment of the biocarburanti, above all in terms of cost and of sustainability. In fact - he has explained - "any alternative fuel must be commercially available on wide scale and it must not have an impact negative on the agricultural production". "The biocarburante derived from the algae - it has added - is one of the developed biocombustibili less and, with ulterior technological progresses, it has the potential one for being produced mainly without some impact on agriculture". "Nowadays - it has concluded - we are at the beginning of the employment of the biocarburanti. Therefore our objective is that to continue to realize test and partnership as this in order to continue to develop our acquaintances around to a series of technologies and fuel types".